[F_minor] Outstanding Beethoven

["Houpt, Fred" <fred.houpt@rbc.com>]

Hi gang.  As part of my download mania yesterday I printed off rarely
heard Beethoven pieces and played them at home last night. In particular
his variations on a theme of Rule Britannia and variations on God save
the Queen.  Both are showy and flashy parlor pieces where B could show
off his improvisational chops and boy did he have them.  I found them
very exciting pieces to work through and they are of moderate technical
demands.  Highly recommend them and I am sure you will enjoy his humor
and depth of creativity.  
 
As well I printed off  B's Opus 1. This has to be one of my all time
favorite B's.  Right at the get-go of his career, in his first published
opus number he shows how brilliant he is and how much is to come.  I
highly recommend the trio both as something to try your fingers on and
for your ears to hear.  Superb Beethoven.  I played through most of Opus
1, #1.  I have yet to touch #2 & 3.  I am sure they are delights because
I have heard them on recordings.  This all goes back to my impression
that B's best work, at least for me, is in his smaller scale works.  I
refer to all his chamber material and solo works.  
 
Although this flies in the face of the reality that he is the supreme
musical architect and as a symphonic "Classical" age composer he had no
superior colleague, I still find more zing and satisfaction from B's
smaller works.  Nothing in his large works captures the sublime subtlety
of his last string quartets or his Bagatelles.  These are just my
impressions and opinions and of course there are many people in the
world who ONLY listen to B's symphonic and large choral works and are
justly impressed and fulfilled.  I have no quarrel.  It is just my
preference. I would almost say the same with Mozart save for the fact
that many of his operas are so wonderful that they make the heart sing
along with the performers.  With JS Bach he reached perfection in almost
every genre and it is hard to pinpoint one where I would rather linger.
I find the organ solo works a bit ponderous but much of this has to do
with the size and aural dimensions of the instruments.  Anyway, I am
getting sidetracked.
 
By all means try to check out these Beethoven pieces either to play (now
that I have shown a free site for downloading) or else try to listen to
the pieces.  
 
have a great day....
 
 
Fred Houpt
Toronto
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